The Report Card with Nat Malkus Do Phones Make Students Less Able to Focus? (with Dan Willingham)
14 snips
Oct 6, 2025 Dan Willingham, a psychology professor and education author, dives into how digital technology impacts students' attention. He examines why many believe phones disrupt focus, revealing research suggests this effect is minimal. Addressing the perception of declining attention spans, he challenges the narrative with stable measures of attention over decades. Willingham also highlights boredom’s role in engagement and suggests that proper phone policies might mitigate distractions. Ultimately, he emphasizes the need for structural changes in schools to better engage students.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Weak Evidence Phones Shrink Attention
- Dan Willingham argues widespread belief that phones ruined attention lacks strong evidence from long-term measures.
- Correlational studies show at best tiny effects of screen use on attention across months or years.
Core Attention Measures Are Stable
- Standard cognitive measures like backward digit span show little change over decades.
- This suggests core working-memory/attention capacity hasn't eroded despite digital life.
Phones Change Tolerance For Boredom
- Willingham reframes the problem: students can pay attention but may be unwilling because they compare tasks to phone alternatives.
- Digital life reduces tolerance for boredom by making alternatives obvious and effortless.
